Tyler Starr’s flowing golden mane drew comments from national media types on Monday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, so he had that going for him when it was time to show scouts and coaches what he could do.

It wasn’t a means to an end, of course, though there are a lot of good football players with long hair. Other measurables will mean more on draft day. On that count, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound outside linebacker had an interesting day in front of the NFL.

There was no doubt about the three-cone effort being the highlight of the day. Starr’s time was more than one-tenth of a second faster than the second-fastest time (from Trent Murphy of Stanford) among outside linebackers. His shuttle time was also among the best in the class. The toughest part was the 40 time, where he’s been timed as fast as 4.78 but wasn’t able to match that at the combine.

“In the football functional drills, he showed off that he was the best athlete there,” said Kyle Strongin, Starr’s agent. “And he excelled at all the position drills – he did a great job of moving back and forth and changing directions. He had a good day.”

The one area where the rush linebacker wanted better, obviously, was in the 40.

“He’s run faster than that and he will run faster than that,” Strongin said. “He’ll be ready for his pro day – he’s got 17 days until then and he’s going to go back and work on it and he’s going to get better.”

With the NFL Network broadcasting the drills live, there was no doubt that Starr cast a striking presence on the television screen. Again, it meant nothing as far as how he will be regarded as draft day approaches, but it added to the experience.

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“I think we are going to dedicate half of today’s NFL LIVE to the flowing locks of one Tyler Starr...” tweeted ESPN’s Trey Wingo. He also tweeted “It’s only a matter of time until Tyler Starr’s hair has its own Twitter account...”

The NFL Network’s Rich Eisen referred to him as “Bret Michaels” as he prepared for the 40 and also said he “was straight off the set of ‘True Detective’ to the NFL Combine.”

But on the business end, USD coach Joe Glenn, who has sent several players to the combine over the years, said Starr’s game has never been about 40 yards.

“He’s much more a quick and powerful player than he is lightning fast,” Glenn said. “The watch doesn’t lie, but strength and quickness is where he excels. There were a lot of other drills where he was able to show the kind of explosion he has and the kind of player he can be.”

Much more important than the round he is taken in – or whether he’s drafted at all – will be the system he’s involved in, Glenn said.

“All he ever wanted was a chance, and he’s going to get that chance,” Glenn said. “I don’t think he’s too worried about the draft. It’s about getting to a place where they’re going to put him in the right spot and then let him go to work.”